Combined penetration of wind and solar generation with plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

Combining large penetration of wind and solar generation with Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) seems a promising solution for energy cost saving and emissions reduction. PEVs connected to the grid with smart charging strategies can be an effective way to integrate non-dispatchable renewable generation, smoothing the load curve, contributing to the system stability by providing regulation services, and moving unhealthy emissions away from city centers.

This paper analyzes the combined penetration of PEVs, and wind and solar generation using a Unit Commitment model for the Spanish power system, providing some insight on how the penetration of these technologies affects relevant variables such as energy and reserve, thermal plants behavior (such as starts-up and shut-downs, technological energy share, generation costs or emissions) and systems costs. Results show that PEV increase total demand, but its optimal charging smooths the net demand (to be supplied by thermal units) and the final electricity prices. In addition, solar generation penetration leads to a larger net demand with more variability but with lower production costs than wind generation penetration, due to their different hourly profiles. Finally neither solar nor wind generation penetrations are totally profitable for the system with the assumptions made, since their investments costs do not compensate the production cost decrement, but grid parity is almost reached for both technologies.